Piezo Systems

[Brad Scott]

I'm sorry if this has been covered before, but which piezo system do Anderson guitars employ?

I remember the older Andersons having the switch directly mounted to the face of the guitar body, but recent TAs with a piezo do not have the top-mounted control anymore.

[Stan Malinowski]

Anderson currently uses Fishman Powerbridge Piezos. There is no longer any switch or any controls on the guitar for the piezo. The circuitry for the piezo is run completly seperate from the circuitry for the normal pickups. The output jack on the guitar is stereo for seperation of the piezo and magnetic pickup outputs.

[John Price]

And it sounds great! Especially when using the fishman powerblend pedal......

[Rick]

Originally posted by Stan Malinowski
Anderson currently uses Fishman Powerbridge Piezos. There is no longer any switch or any controls on the guitar for the piezo. The circuitry for the piezo is run completly seperate from the circuitry for the normal pickups. The output jack on the guitar is stereo for seperation of the piezo and magnetic pickup outputs.

So how do you control on/off or mix level of the piezo? Do you have to use the pedal to work it & make the system active (I'm assuming -- perhaps wrongly -- there's no battery in the guitar)?

[Stan Malinowski]

So how do you control on/off or mix level of the piezo? Do you have to use the pedal to work it & make the system active (I'm assuming -- perhaps wrongly -- there's no battery in the guitar)?

Rick,

There is no battery in the guitar, the piezo circuitry is passive. Volume and tone adjustments are handled externally by the Fishman Powerblend Pedal (basically a preamp) or at the amplifier. I have never used the PB Pedal (Roy does and I think John Price does) but I have run the piezo into a SWR acoustic amp with excellent results. I use a stereo Y Cord at the guitar (Stereo 1/4" Plug at the guitar into 2 1/4" Mono Plugs) and run the regular pickups to my main amp and the Powerbridge output to an acoustic amp.

[GASMAN]

Brad-------The Fishman system works great, but as many good things as I have to say about Anderson guitars-------I don't think they do a very good job at explaining the powerbridge. In order to control the volume of the peizo, you need to get the Powerblend pedal by Fishman. I got what I thought was a good deal on mine for $175.00. Don't know what they sell for today. It's a great pedal with a nice EQ setup, which enables you to control the volume of the "acoustic" sound. If you turn the volume on the guitar all the way down, you get just acoustic-----or just electric by bringing the volume pedal all the way back. Of course, the ability to blend the two---which is a wonderful new sound. IMPORTANT---------make sure you get the Fishman stereo cable that is shielded properly to eliminate any crosstalk of the two sounds. Also-----in my opinoin-----you must run the peizo sound through an acoustic amp to get anything close to a real '"acoustic" sound. Trying to get it out of an electric guitar amp just doesn't work. Or---run out of the pedal directly to the PA. It's a great system if used properly.

[sylvanshine]

I found the Powerblend pedal too large for my pedalboard. I use a Boss line selector LS-2 and a 3" Y cable from Hosa that has a female end. You can adjust volume but there is no EQ.

Also, I find that if you pick closer to the bridge, you get a better acoustic sound through a regular amp. Don't get me wrong, the SWR sounds fantastic, but I got tired of hauling two amps around to gigs. Plus, soundmen just don't get how to blend the two amps. Better to just give them one channel to deal with. :p

[Rick]

I've gotta say, it's a disappointment to realize the piezo system has zero control from the guitar; needing the pedal or a 2-channel amp or 2 amps to use the thing makes the guitar so much less self-contained as an instrument. A volume control for the piezo seems like it would add so much more overall flexibility.

[GASMAN]

I kind of agree Rick. I had an older version with the Baggs system at one time and it seemed to work fine for me. In e-mailing Tom about why the switch to Fishman, he said they mainly wanted to eliminate the preamp on the guitar so no need for battery, etc. The Fishman works great for me, but it is kind of a drag having to purchase the pedal etc. It's one of those things that you just have to decide if it's worth the extra dough. With the band I'm currently with------I use it alot. I've even had a Powerbridge installed on an older Schecter I've had for years. But yes----the onboard controls would be nice.

[JoeB63]

I disagree with Rick and GASMAN. The extra knobs on the the older TA guitars with Piezo uglied up the guitar. Yuck. I'd much rather have the controls externally. In the scheme of things, $200 for the Fishman Powerpedal is not a lot of $$ if you need acoustic sounds from your electric.

[tom]

the way it works is certainly subjective and i respect either camp there. to defend the price, the baggs system was $450, the fishman is $200+250 for the powerblend. my math tells me they are the same.

[GASMAN]

Wow!!! I guess I really did get a good buy on my Powerblend pedal ($175.00). For anyone thinking about getting this on your next Anderson, I would highly reccomend it. Extra money aside-------it is a fun way to get another tone out of your ax. The blending thing has become so useful to me that I don't see a future playing without it. One advantage with the pedal is it's fantastic EQ section. Anyway----I could go on......... Suffice it to say I'm very happy with the system.

[BrownDog]

I've had both piezo systems on a couple of different Andersons that I've owned (a Hollow T Contour and a Cobra with 3 P90s)and my preference was the Powerblend "system." It was simply easier for me to use in the context of playing live with my band than the Baggs. Plus, it was nice not having a battery inside the control cavity of the guitar.

Nevertheless, one thing I learned was that I'm not really a piezo person. I found that I didn't use it as much as I thought I would when I practiced or played out with my band. (Interestingly, when I was noodling at home or practicing alone, it was a great and enjoyable tonal addition.) My next Anderson will have a trem but be piezo-less.

For myself alone and with tone and oneness, Mike.